100 Reasons Why Third Graders Love Rashi

To celebrate the 100th day of school, third graders wrote 100 reasons why they love Rashi.
1. We have great teachers.
2. It is a good school to learn at.
3. We learn multiplication and long division.
4. We can write about what we are reading in our reading journals.
5. In social studies we l...

6. We get to learn another language – Hebrew – instead of speaking English all day.

7. In science we get to learn about light.

8. In Jewish studies we learn about Noah and Abraham, and we get to work on our Abraham stories.

9. We are writing songs for our own opera in music class.

10. We are learning lots of fancy curls and swirls in cursive writing.

11. We celebrate a lot of holidays.

12. We can use the Larrys* to write letters and numbers. (*see glossary at end)

13. During readalouds we always pick interesting books and you can use your emotions.

14. At Rosh Hashanah we get apples and honey.

15. In minyan we can sing as loud as we want.

16. During weekend update* we can tell our teachers what we did on the weekend.

17. We get to ask questions.

18. It is fun to play Last Word* and think of things in a category.

19. We learn a lot during Design Day* – our egg almost made it!

17. We can read to our reading buddies and teach them new words.

18. We get to be creative in art: we can make masks and Passover pillows.

19. We learn about things going on in the world in Scholastic News.

20. We do graph-in and you get to know more about me.

21. We can climb high on the rock wall.

22. In tefillah we get to sing songs with the other third grade class.

23. In library we learn about authors.

24. We get to go on a special website to learn all about native Americans.

25. In wellness we do the Great Body Shop.*

26. During Hanukah we light the menorah and get latkes.

27. I love school because I have great friends.

28. In typing we play games and improve our typing skills.

29. I love chorus because I like doing vocal things.

30. In writing we learn about brain frames.

31. In fitness and health we get to exercise and learn about our muscles.

32. We have social time with our friends during lunch.

33. We think better after lunch.

34. I like fables because they have morals.

35. During Tamchui* I can donate to people who need it.

36. In reading response I can tell teachers what I’m reading at home.

37. When I am the class ambassador I can introduce myself to people.

38. In drama we get to appear on stage.

39. On Tu B’Shevat we get to plant parsley.

40. We like learning about couplets and limericks because they have challenging patterns to follow.

41. We can go on field trips to places like the Museum of Science, where we saw lots of cool science.

42. In Mitzvah Makers* you can make new friends at NewBridge and make mitzvahs.

43. When new kids visit I love meeting them and being their buddy.

44. We can do science experiments.

45. On someone’s birthday you get to sign a shirt with the person’s personality.

46. We learn new words and do fun vocabulary exercises.

47. In Midrash* you get to make up your own story.

48. We learn about Native Americans and we each get Native American names.

49. In teacher’s pick you never know what’s going to happen.

50. We learn different songs in minyan.

51. During fitness and health we get stronger and do things to make us healthy.

52. In third grade we get many more choices.

53. Zip Around* helps me with math speed.

54. I like being on Gmilut Chasadim* team because I can be a door holder.

55. In Hebrew we learn the root letter method.

56. Recess helps me think better in the afternoon.

57. In geography we learn about the world.

58. We learn fables in Hebrew and English.

59. On Purim we dress up in costumes.

60. I love getting pizza on Pizza Thursday because it is extremely yummy.

61. In music sometimes we listen to music and dance to it.

62. Rashi is not too easy and not too hard

63. I adore minyan because I have a chance to talk to God by myself.

64. In spelling we have our own workbooks.

65. It’s fun to go around in circles on spinny thing on the playground.

66. Last word is a fun game you use your brain with.

67. In library we can pick out new books.

68. The teachers are smart.

69. One of our writing units was poems and it was very fun writing them.

70. I like lunch because sometimes I get hungry after learning so much cool stuff.

71. In art we get to use messy things.

72. When I am the tzaddik* of the week I get to check the materials.

73. There are a lot of good choices in afterschool and fencing is fun.

74. I love learning new songs and learning to have a better voice in chorus.

75. In social studies we learn about rivers, lakes and oceans and the Everglades.

76. In gym I get energetic and I stretch and get my heart pumping.

77. At Kabbalat Shabbat you get to go to the auditorium and sing.

78. The astronomy scientist came and taught us about outer space.

79. I love asking questions and learning from them.

80. We like to see plays because sometimes they are funny.

81. In morning letter* there is always something exciting to do.

82. On Yom Ha’atzma’ut we get felafel and pita bread and do fun activities like Israeli dancing.

83. At extended day you can play football and play with clay.

84. For homework we get to practice what we learned.

85. Teachers help us if we don’t understand something.

86. Our Native American names* make me feel special.

87. In our correspondence journals* we get to tell our parents the amazing things we do.

88. There are good playgrounds.

89. At indoor recess there are lots of games to play.

90. In independent reading we read about fascinating stuff.

91. We are doing fables as a play.

92. We get to type our weekend update.

93. During tefillah we learn proper pronunciation.

94. We can be rabbis in training and go on stage during Kabbalat Shabbat.

95. In math assessments the teachers can see where I am in my math skills.

96. Andrew [poet Andrew Green] came and taught us about poetry.

97. During Hebrew we can use the ActivBoard.

98. In social studies we learn about the Pilgrims.

99. I appreciate all the teachers because they teach us many things.

100. On the 100th day of school you get to do this challenge.

Glossary – Learn more about third grade at Rashi:

Ambassador is a class job. The ambassador introduces him/herself to classroom visitors, tell them what the class is doing, and answer any questions.

Correspondence journals are kept between students and their parents. Children write to their parents on Fridays to tell them about what they’ve done during the week; the parents write back during the weekend and the students turn in the journals on Monday.

Design Day: A day in which all Rashi students are given an engineering challenge and use an eight-step design process to develop solutions, construct and test prototypes, and redesign for improvement. The third grade challenge is to construct an “egg rover” that will protect an egg when dropped from a height.

Gemilut Chasadim team: two students who hand out supplies, hold the door, and keep an eye out for acts of loving kindness that they can report.

Great Body Shop: Health and social competency curriculum.

Larrys: Handheld devices that are part of the ActivBoard LeArning Response SYStem. Children use them to respond to questions on the ActivBoard, allowing teachers to instantly assess students’ learning progress.

Last Word is a game that reinforces critical thinking skills. Students have to quickly come up with concepts related to a particular category before the buzzer goes off

Midrashim are stories that answer questions the Torah doesn’t answer. Third graders write them as part of their Jewish studies units.

Mitzvah Makers: Rashi students who visit seniors on a monthly basis.

Morning Letter is the letter teachers write to children in the morning.

Native American names: Students learn about different naming traditions in order to promote cultural sensitivity. Students identify an adjective and an animal/natural phenomenon that they feel captures their essence (e.g. Loving Cat, Adventurous Hamster) and that becomes their “name” for social studies classes during our Native American unit.

Reading Response journals are journals in which children summarize their home reading and respond to specific prompts aimed at increasing their reading comprehension.

Tamchui: Annual philanthropy project. See www.rashi.org/tamchui

Tzaddik of the week is the class helper .

Weekend Update is a journal in which children write on Monday about the weekend’s adventures. It is a way for teachers to assess their writing and to teach them about “Friendly Letter Format.”

Zip Around is a math game in which kids are given cards with both a math equation and a solution on them. One person starts by asking who has the card with a particular equation (“Who has 5 x 3?”). Students do the math in their head and see if the answer is on their card. The child who has it says, “I have 15, who has [another equation]?” The goal is for all of the children to read all of their cards as quickly as possible.

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